1. The look

Our immediate reaction is to give this to The Force Awakens. JJ Abrams's insistence on using practical effects wherever possible makes for some memorably lush environments – the Jakku marketplace and Maz Kanata's castle spring immediately to mind. The First Order rally also had a sense of scale not often matched in the Star Wars series.

But Rogue One's visuals are, if grittier, hardly less impressive. It flicks between the dusty streets of Jedha – with the mournful Jedi statues slowly vanishing beneath the dunes outside the walls – and the tropical paradise of Scarif. The film does an incredible job of recreating the grime and decay of A New Hope, while far surpassing the original with the terrible beauty of the Death Star-wrought destruction and the sinister presence of Darth Vader.

This round goes to… Rogue One.

2. The cast

It's heartening to feel that Disney is increasingly trying to outdo itself in terms of diversity. The Force Awakens proved that a film with a female and black lead could out-perform all of Marvel's "white guys called Chris"-headed movies. Added to that there was some sterling support from Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson in the baddie camp, and Harrison Ford was on top form - perhaps because he was buoyed by the knowledge that he would finally get his wish to kill off Han Solo - although Carrie Fisher didn't sparkle quite like she used to (and still does on talk shows across the world).

Rogue One took it up a notch further, with not a white American male face to be seen in its ensemble cast (and only Alan Tudyk's voice to be heard). The cast hail from all over the world, and they look to be paying off for Disney so far. Although we were still disappointed that there was only one woman among the nine leads.

This round goes to… The Force Awakens. Only just.

3. The action

For all that it spawned the TR-8R meme, Finn's lightsaber battle against the baton-wielding stormtrooper was a bit short and one-sided. At least Rey's final confrontation with Kylo Ren was a fitting climax, and dripping with emotion and tension to boot.

But all of The Force Awakens feels like a warm-up for the badassery of Rogue One. Jyn makes mincemeat of the stormtroopers in Jedha City (with a little help from K-2SO and his casual grenade-throwing skills). But the crowning glory goes to Donnie Yen's blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe, who would give Darth Maul a run for his money. Director Gareth Edwards also cleverly contrasted his graceful fighting with the blunt, gun-toting destruction of his partner Baze Malbus. So. Awesome.

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This round goes to… Rogue One.

4. The humour

This has to be the most clean-cut of our categories thanks to the unusually dark tone of Rogue One. When you're busy establishing that your Rebel "heroes" are capable of being just as ruthless as their Imperial enemies, it turns out there isn't a whole lot of space left to crack a few jokes. Unless you're the sublimely blunt K-2SO, that is, stealer of scenes and master of LOLs.

The Force Awakens had a much lighter tone, with physical comedy from BB-8, a brilliant rapport between Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, and Harrison Ford repeatedly knocking it out of the park.

This round goes to… The Force Awakens

5. Originality

Originality was a big stumbling block for The Force Awakens. Despite its very warm reception, there was no denying that it was almost identical to A New Hope in structure and setting. Much hope is riding on Star Wars Episode 8, because while Episode 7 brought a sense of fun and adventure back to the series, it played things very, very safe indeed.

Rogue One, on the other hand, had a tougher task ahead: initially we thought we already knew the story. There was no doubt that Jyn, Cassian and co's mission would end with the Death Star plans in the hands of the Rebel Alliance. But Gareth Edwards worked some impressive magic in between those lines, giving us a fully fleshed-out cast of diverse characters, some gut-wrenching emotion and tragedy on a scale that the prequel films only dreamed about achieving.

This round goes to… Rogue One

6. Family friendliness

One thing you probably noticed straight away about Rogue One was how dark it was. Good Rebels do some bad shit in the name of expediency. And, if you haven't seen it yet, well, things get very bleak indeed. And this probably translates into a headache for parents across the world whose young children are desperate to see the next Star Wars film. Because, more than any other film in the series, this isn't for kids.